Crunch-A-Licious Chickpeas

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Roasted to a deep crunch, these chickpea snacks satisfy when you want a crispy nosh.
Roasted to a deep crunch, these chickpea snacks satisfy when you want a crispy nosh.

Chickpeas are an indispensable legume. They’re what give hummus its body. They bulk up soups, stews, and salads, and add a lovely nutty flavor.

They also give potato chips a run for their money in the form of Festive Chickpeas, a snack of crispy, fried garbanzos that have 5 grams of protein, 190 milligrams of potassium, and 4 grams of dietary fiber per 1-ounce serving.

They come in a variety of flavors, of which I received samples recently. They are soy-free, gluten-free, non-GMO, and vegan (with the exception of the BBQ variety). They are roasted in canola oil, then seasoned with sea salt, sugar, yeast extract, and other seasonings.

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The Simple Pleasures of Pork Simmered with Ginger

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A fast and homey tasting pork dish full of ginger flavor.
A fast and homey tasting pork dish full of ginger flavor.

Spending two weeks in Japan last year gave me an even greater appreciation for the food there. Not just for the regal kaiseki experiences or the sublime omakase meals, but for the uncomplicated everyday food that’s so inexpensive and readily available.

Things like a creamy egg salad sandwich on squishy milk bread from Lawson’s convenience store, the freshly made sesame seed-studded onigiri from the 7-Eleven with rice that was never too cold or too hard, and the shattering crunch of a soy-brushed rice cracker that somehow tasted better than any others I’d ever had.

“A Day In Tokyo” (Smith Street Books, 2024), of which I received a review copy, let me relive those marvelous food memories through its pages.

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Spanakopita Gets An Italian Twist

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All the flavors of the classic Greek pastry pie -- minus the pastry.
All the flavors of the classic Greek pastry pie — minus the pastry.

Loaded with spinach and creamy, briny feta, who doesn’t love the savory Greek pie with the crisp pastry crust known as spanakopita?

Even so, the thought of fussing with hard-to-handle phyllo pastry sheets might be enough to deter you from wanting to make it at home.

So, take an easier route and use pasta instead.

Yes, “Baked Spanakopita Pasta with Greens and Feta” swaps out phyllo for tubular or curvy pasta instead. Think of it as the Greek cousin to American mac ‘n’ cheese.

This simple recipe is from “Easy Weeknight Dinners” (Ten Speed Press, 2024), of which I received a review copy.

Version 1.0.0

It’s by the New York Times Cooking and Emily Weinstein, its editor in chief.

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Savoring Southern Flair at Prelude

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The fabulous stuffed chicken wings at Prelude.
The fabulous stuffed chicken wings at Prelude.

There was a time in the planning stages that the flagship fine-dining restaurant on the ground floor of The Jay Hotel in San Francisco was to be a steak-centric establishment named Sage.

But when the Omakase Restaurant Group decided to put Executive Chef Celtin Hendrickson-Jones (formerly chef de cuisine of its Niku Steakhouse in San Francisco) in charge of the new restaurant, it rightly let him lean into his Southern heritage.

The result is Prelude, a sultry, chic restaurant, which opened last year to serve elevated Southern cuisine with Northern California sensibilities. It joins the Omakase Group’s other more casual restaurant in the hotel, The Third Floor.

Executive Chef Celtin Hendrickson-Jones in the open kitchen.
Executive Chef Celtin Hendrickson-Jones in the open kitchen.

Hendrickson-Jones may have grown up in Sacramento, but his Southern roots come from his maternal grandmother who lived in Alabama. From a young age, he started cooking bountiful Sunday dinners with his mother that had Southern influence. His professional career began when he was a sushi apprentice at Morimoto Napa. He then worked at Michelin two-starred Commis in Oakland and Picco in Larkspur before taking on his first executive chef position at Prelude.

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Sweet On Big Picture Farm Caramels

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Discover Big Picture Farm caramels made by a family farm in Vermont.
Discover Big Picture Farm caramels made by a family farm in Vermont.

They are creamy, sticky, buttery, redolent of caramelized sugar, and come in some surprising flavors.

Big Picture Farm caramels, of which I received a sample, are made by a family farm in southern Vermont using milk from their herd of adorable goats.

The farm is completely solar-powered. Its 100 acres are grazed by the goats on a rotational basis to maintain soil health. The caramels also make use of local ingredients from their fellow farmers.

Owners Louisa Conrad is a photographer and mixed-media artist, and her husband Lucas Farrell is a writer and poet. And it shows.

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